Bateaux New York, NYC Dinner Cruise
Go Fig
York, a NYC Harbor Dinner Cruise. Good food, service, entertainment,
ship layout, the VIEWS and was it choppy ?
I really liked the one in Paris and London and thought it might be nice
to take a first timer to NYC on this dinner cruise just before
Christmas (OK, I want to do it). The weather could be a problem, but I
might wait as long as possible to reserve it... so I can better
forecast. I guess I'll give them a call to see about availability
during this very, very busy time in NYC.
TIA
jay
Tue Nov 21, 2006
mailto:go...@mac.com
Margaret Caldwell Ott
Hi Jay,
We have done Batteaux, New York (actually owned by Spirit Harbor
Cruises) many times--usually at least once a year for the past 6
years. We have also done the much cheaper Spirit cruises trips many
times, especially when we want to entertain friends. Since Batteaux
is expensive (in sharp contrast to the much less expensive Spirit
vessels), we reserve it for very special occasions--birthdays, wedding
anniversary, etc... We did it just this past November 5th for me to
celebrate my 50th birthday--definitely a special occasion--!!.
The "ship"--actually a converted barge--is called the Celestial. It
is low to the water (only a 4 foot draft), but rides very well, even
in choppy harbor water when it is windy. It is clean and very well
maintained, also in much better shape than the Spirit vessels. Our
favorite advantage to it over the other Spirit Cruises vessels is that
the windows are very large and extend up over your head so that you
have a full view of the skyline. On the Spirit vessels, you have to
go out on deck in order to get a full view of the skyline--the windows
are not over-sized and are positioned too low. Other advantages of
Batteaux (as opposed to the regular Spirit Cruises vessels) is that
the food is excellent (MUCH better than that on Spirit), the service
is very good (not excellent--but they do look after you very well), we
prefer the entertainment (just a single vocalist with a small
combo--not a full band with overly loud music that disrupts
conversation--a nice dance floor in the center of the vessel just in
front of the vocalist and combo), and we prefer the route that
Batteaux takes--a quick run around the southern end of Manhattan, up
past the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, a turn (usually
in the vicinity of the UN), then more slowly down the East River, out
to the Statue of Liberty--as close as you can get on any vessel) and
then slowly back to the dock at the Chelsea Piers. If the current is
strong on the Hudson side, sometimes they will also run you up to the
vicinity of the Intrepid, before going down river.
If you decide on Batteaux, I strongly encourage you to take one of
their" package offers". They have two:
(1) The Romance package includes private seating for two, roses at the
table, champagne and keepsake flutes, and chocolate truffles after
dinner. Cost is $70 per couple
(2)The Service Premier package includes seating in the first class
section (in other words--right next to one of large windows, usually
at the very front end of the vessel--the best table on board)),
welcome aboard cocktail and special hors d'oeuvres, chocolate truffles
after dinner, and open bar service forselected wines and beer. Cost
is around $40 to $45 per person.
We usually take the Premier package, and ask them to include the roses
from the romance package, which they will do for an additional charge.
Total cost of our November 5th dinner cruise was $332, but it was well
worth it! We selected the Chablis wine, and they came and refilled
our glasses at regular intervals for no additional charge--as much as
we liked! The food was superb, especially the filet mignon which is
served with vegetables and their own variety of garlic mash potatoes
that are amazing--I have never been able to figure out how to
duplicate it at home!! Derek had the sushi (very good), while I prefer
the salad with blue cheese (superb) to start with--be warned that the
blue chesse is sprinkled in the dressing at the bottom of the plate
before the salad is put on top--dig deep!!. The tip is NOT
inlcuded--we usually leave an additional $60 in cash, and also pay for
our photograph--a very nice souvenir of the occasion.
Batteaux's website is www.spiritcitycruises.com/bat and is well worth
a gander for additional information--the menus are printed there too.
Be prepared to find large groups of tourists sailing with you--often
from Japan. Spirit/Batteaux has some sort of deal with local travel
agents and/or hotels and accepts large groups of international
passengers that are probably traveling on a NYC package deal, but we
have never found them to be a bother in any way, shape, or form!
If you elect the dinner cruise, boarding is at 6:30 from Chelsea Piers
(collect your "boarding pass" from the Spirit Cruises Kiosk BEFORE
going over to the vessel--this is where they run your credit card and
check your ids), departure is at 7:30 and the vessel comes back to
Chelsea Piers at 10:30 or shortly afterwards. Dress is "Business
Casual", but you do see folks dressed in formal outfits too!
Cheers,
Peg
Go Fig
Thanx so much for your efforts, your posting was very helpful.
Were most of your sailings close to capacity ?
How far out did you make your reservations ?
Thanx again, and have a very nice Thanksgiving.
jay
Wed Nov 22, 2006
mailto:go...@mac.com
In article <77g7m2l1b3ca8fpp7...@4ax.com>, Margaret
Margaret Caldwell Ott
Glad the information was helpful!! We always have a good time on
Batteaux and it is certainly one of the highlights of any year, even
though it is only for one evening!
Yes, most of our sailings on Batteaux have been at or close to
capacity. I am a teacher and Derek is a Travel Agent (Group Air only
for Gate 1), so "school night" sailings are out! When we do a Batteaux
trip it is always on a weekend, usually a Saturday night. I have no
idea how busy or full they are on weekday nights or for their luncheon
cruises.
We usually make our reservations for a Batteaux cruise about 6 weeks
to a month in advance, but since we take the Premier Service package,
we have always had the same table--the one in the front right next to
the window!! Best seat in the house! We even had this same table for
our most recent harbor cruise on November 5, although I was slow to
make the reservation and only booked 3 weeks in advance. However, we
did get "bumped" this time (at the time that I made the reservation)
from the night of the 4th (a Saturday) to the night of the 5th (a
Sunday) since the Saturday night was totally sold out.
It's a great harbor cruise, and the company/vessel that we like best!!
We have little to compare it to beyond the other Spirit vessels, and a
river dinner cruise on the Seine in Paris done many years ago.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family too!
Peg
Brian K
New Jersey but sails the same waters. I think that there's a sister
ship, "The Spirit of New York" which docks in Manhattan and offers the
same experience, food, etc.
I attended a birthday party that was on TSNJ. We were 30 guests and had
a private room with a great view. The food was excellent, and they even
threw in a dj. We had our own private entrance to the outside
promenade. The views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty at night
were spectacular!
Hope this helps.
--
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Brian M. Kochera
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